Flat Out Perfect

It's official. I'm over heels. Flats are where it's at! And these bad boys are going on my birthday wish-list. I'm loving this whimsical floral pattern. Comfortable AND cute? I'm sold. If you're drooling like me, get yourself some here.

Tiffany Tales

I love this Ed Burns directed mini-advert for Tiffany's. So fun to hear different "meet cute" stories and proposal experiences. Gotta say, Harvey and Corrine take the cake for me!

Turn it Tory

I'm loving this happy Tory Burch print for Spring 2013. Even better? It's available for download to jazz up your gadgets. Get your free fashion forward download here.

Western Union

I am in full blown wedding planning mode over here...forgive me if my posts have a bridal tilt :) I stumbled upon these gorgeous images of Lauren Bush (anyone else find it funny that her married name is Lauren Lauren?) and David Lauren. The wedding looks breathtaking, but I'm more impressed with how natural and relaxed their engagement photos are. Consider me inspired! images via Vogue.

Mid-Winter Pick Me Up

This Winter has been a tough one; brutal wind, bone-chilling temps and icy rain (or snow!) have made February a hellish month for someone lucky enough (?) to walk to work. So it's a good thing I stumbled upon this Pumpkin Muffin recipe over on Smitten Kitchen. To be fair, I actually discovered it using one of my new favorite apps, Evernote Food. Either way, the recipe was discovered and the result was a delicious reminder of why cold weather can be good. A muffin this cozy just wouldn't make sense in mid-July.

If you're feeling a bit sick of the cold, make these muffins and then eat as many as you want, preferably in front of a fireplace. That's what I did. You can find the recipe here, and if you wanna get weird, add in dried cranberries and chopped walnuts. I did it. And I'm not sorry.

Is it Soup yet?

Can we talk about this photo? It arrived via Bon Appetit mag in my mailbox after a long day nursing a cold, when a bowl of hot and spicy soup was all that mattered. Unfortunately it has like, one million ingredients, so Thai delivery may be a more realistic option. If you're brave enough to try the recipe, find it here.

Fresh Catch

Marlien Rentmeester, the former West Coast editor of Lucky Magazine, has one of the most enviable closets I've ever peeped. She also has one of the coolest blogs (Le Catch), and it's one of my few daily reads. She makes mixes high and low like a true professional, and knows about all the cool cyber sales. So yea, she da bomb. Check out Le Catch to find out what all the hype is about.

I've been MIA lately, and part of that time was spent seated at this very beach bar in Tulum, Mexico. It was a whirlwind trip that began in Switzerland, included a pit stop in France, and ended with a friend's wedding south of the border. Either way, I'm back with a few more stamps in my passport and some cool posts to share. Talk soon! XO.

diamonds in the sky...

This post is long overdue, but suffice it to say I came back from vacation with more than I bargained for. That's right, I'm getting hitched. So, I promise a post (soon) with lengthy details of our Italian adventure. And I also promise to try my best to keep this from turning into a wedding blog. Stay tuned :)

2012: A Year in Review. A Year in FOOD.

So hard to believe another year has flown by and 2013 is almost here! As I was thinking about what kind of year in review post I wanted to write, and flipping through my images from the last year, one thing became apparent. I. Love. FOOD. Maybe more than the average person? Or maybe not, but god, I take a ton of annoying food pictures. So to prove that whipping out my big DSLR camera in a crowded, trendy restaurant wasn't all for naught, here is my year in review. Dish by dish.

JANUARY

Kicked the year off right with skiing and famous Turkey Chili in Deer Valley, Utah. Probably still one of the more memorable bowls of chili I've devoured this year.

FEBRUARY

More skiing, this time in Switzerland. And it wouldn't be Switzerland without a steaming hot skillet full of bubbling cheese and grilled meats. Plus, the egg.

MARCH

One of my favorite nibbles from 2012 was this Tuna Crudo with avocado, vanilla and pineapple, eaten at one of my all-time favorite restaurants Union Square Cafe. The combo sounds weird, but I hope you trust me enough to know that it was not weird. It was EXCELLENT.

APRIL

An anniversary/birthday weekend Out East was made complete by the introduction of this incredible salad to my life. Now, I eat it pretty much every weekend. Fried things on salads are OK in my book.

MAY

Wanna know a good idea? Eating a massive, delicious cheeseburger in a bikini. I found this one in Anguilla and it died shortly after having it's photo taken.

JUNE

This photo makes it seem like I started eating all healthy in June, but these berries were either for a cocktail, or a pie. It's a little foggy. Either way, it was surely delicious. Calories well spent.

JULY

Quite possibly my favorite Southern Delight is this little pink perfection. She's a peppermint sundae all dressed up with hot fudge and we meet every sticky July, same place, same time. Ain't she a beaut?

AUGUST

A wedding in Vermont was the perfect excuse to stop at one of my favorite places in the world, Simon Pearce in Quechee, VT. Those were some pretty stellar late-summer heirloom tomatoes. And that white stuff smeared all over the perfect hand-made earthenware plate? It's just some whipped local goat cheese. NBD.

SEPTEMBER

I just refused to let summer die, so there was seafood being eaten. Constantly. These lobsters were so huge and there were leftovers for omelets. I mean! P.S. This photo has not been doctored in any way. They were beet red. For reals.

OCTOBER

This morsel of organic goodness was eaten while in attendance at a black tie affair. I declined to wear spanx that evening, so there was plenty of room to grow, and for that reason, I ate more than one of these. I'm not sorry.

NOVEMBER

If ever there was a favorite moment in someone's life, it would be when a platter of freshly shucked oysters are lowered onto a table and all is right with the world. That is my moment, people. These were my oysters. Fresh as a teenager, and more delicious than you can imagine. I live for those damn things.

DECEMBER

I have 3 words for you. STONE. CRAB. CLAWS. I have zero photographic evidence, so just take my word for it. I ate as much of it as I could.

So, here's hoping 2013 is just as delicious! Happy New Year!!

Unsolved Mysteries: NYE

Tomorrow I am going somewhere to celebrate the New Year. Where you ask? I. Don't. Know! I'm being whisked away and I won't find out the destination until we're at the airport!! All I know is it requires a passport. So, stay tuned. When I return, ALL WILL BE REVEALED! Happy New Year!

That time of year...

Well, folks, it's that time of year again. Cold & flu season is upon us and I got hit hard this past week. Here are my tips to kick it, QUICK and get back to shopping and eating cookies from the break room.

1. I've posted about Avibon before (and so has Gwyneth), but it really is tops for dry skin. Especially the real gnarly patches up under your nose.

2. A good DVD is essential to beating a cold. Preferably something you've seen before, so you can doze off when the meds start kicking in and not worry about missing the plot. This is one of my favorites.

3. These. Tissues. Saved. My. Life.

4. I basically live in these J.Crew sweats on weekends when I'm well, but they really feel good when you're nursing a cold.

5. I can't begin to explain the power in this little spray bottle. It's like a vicks smoothie in really sleek old-timey packaging. I spray it on my pillow before bed, or in a steamy shower. Experience the wonder yourself and buy it here!

6. Let's be honest. Sometimes when you have a cold, you have to go out on the town. And there's no better drink to sip when you're on the mend, than a HOT TODDY! I've convinced myself that the alcohol kills the bacteria in your body (old wive's tale? don't care.) and the lemon and honey soothe your throat. There's no way you can go wrong with this thing. Here's a great recipe.

Get well soon!